Blood that hath been shed
by nivlac
Summary: The Black Swordsman, a great warrior from another realm, appears and slays the Minotaur before Percy does. The reason why he was there was unknown, even to him. It was his responsibility to find a way to return to his own world, no matter what it took.
1. Chapter 1

**Why am I like this. Read my trash please.**

"Percy run faster!" His mother yelled from beside him.

Heavy, monstrous breathing could be heard from directly behind the three of them. Percy, his mother, and Grover in between them carrying the newly revealed to be satyr. The sounds of their footsteps hitting the wet earth were being drowned out by the ever increasing noise of the monsters furious charge behind them.

Suddenly, Grover felt to have gotten even heavier, and Percy turned his head to see the outline of his mother charging away, attempting to draw the massive beast's attention.

"Get past that tree Percy! I'll be fine just go!" She shouted, running.

"Food!" Grover shouted, interrupting anything Percy may have had to say.

He grit his teeth, and began walking up the hill as fast as he possibly could, hoping the best for his mother.

Percy took a breath, and slipped in the mud, his newly revealed satyr friend Grover slipping out of his arms. The tree was so close…

He looked back briefly, seeing his mother in the hands of the monster that was chasing them for miles. The Minotaur held her up to its face, and then squeezed. His eyes widened when she disappeared in a yellow flash of light, and he screamed in anger. The light illuminated the darkness surrounding it, revealing its wet brown fur.

The beast was massive, but the shock of his mother dying in front of his eyes… or perhaps the anger, made him not care one wit about how many muscles or horns it had.

He wanted it dead.

However, as he was about to charge at it in a reckless attempt at revenge, several shots of some… crossbow bolts? Flew past the creature, not harming it in the least. Lightning flashed, and for a moment, he saw the source of the bolts.

A massive man stood, well over six feet, about a yard from the monster. He was clad all in black plated armor adorned with a black cape at his back. His forearms were not covered by the armor, revealing several scars and open wounds, perhaps from a previous battle. Blood oozed out from in between the plates of his armor, and drizzled down his arm.

Percy could not distinguish his facial features before the light disappeared, the last thing he saw being the man drawing an impossibly massive blade from under his cape. Percy heard the Minotaur charge towards that general direction, and by time the next lightning flash illuminated the wet grassy field, he saw the sword cleaving the monster in half, turning the beast to ashes.

Percy wiped the tears from his eyes, and grabbed Grover once again, dragging him past the tree and laying him down. He looked down past the hill, seeing several lit cabins and a house with several inviting lights on within. He looked back down to where the man was, and saw that he was kneeling. The darkness shrouded all but his shape.

Percy looked down to Grover, and back to the large man who saved him.

"I'll be back in a minute sir! Just hang on!" He shouted down at him.

The man's form seemed to glance up at him, and it remained still. Percy quickly kneeled back down, and picked up Grover once more, moving as fast as he could without slipping down the hill. His vision was blurry, and he was soaked to the bone, shivering as he went forwards towards the large house. Percy's legs were still shaking with fear when he took that first step onto the wooden porch.

He adjusted himself, and began banging on the door.

"Let me in! Please!" He shouted.

He heard footsteps from the inside of the door, and saw the gold colored doorknob turn. It was pulled open, and a girl stood in the doorway. She had grey eyes, and long blonde haired that reached down past her shoulders. She wore an orange short sleeved shirt that read 'camp half-blood' in black letters.

Grey eyes? How… odd. Not the weirdest thing to happen today by far however.

"Please help… my friend- My mom!" Percy yelled.

"Whoa calm down… Grover!?" She shouted, noticing the unconscious satyr. "Charon get out here please!"

"Food!" Grover shouted.

Much to Percy's surprise, Mr. Brunner of all people rolled out in his wheelchair, his coffee smell and brown jacket not seeming to have changed one bit since all of this nasty business began. His beard had a bit of what looked like corn in it, looking as if he had just finished eating.

"Mr. Brunner!?" Percy shouted.

"By the gods Percy! Are you alright? Come in, we need to treat you and Grover's wounds." He told the young half-blood.

Percy complied, the girl stepping aside and allowing the both of them inside of the house. The girl took Grover from Percy's shoulder, and Percy fell down to one knee, his exhaustion finally becoming apparent to him.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Brunner asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Percy looked up to him.

"My mom is gone…" Percy said, weeping. "B-but there's this guy outside the camp that killed a Minotaur and saved me! You gotta help him he looked pretty banged up!"

Percy didn't have much time to say anything else before he completely lost consciousness, his last thoughts being of his mother.

…

…

…

He was so… confused. Guts felt the rain pour down and mat down his black hair. His armor glistened whenever the lightning flashed due to the water on his plate. The berserker armor was still bloody despite the heavy rain fall. The tip of the Dragonslayer was stuck into the ground, The Black Swordsman using it to support his weight.

As he looked down on the ashes of his now fallen opponent, he could only wonder…

What the hell was he doing here? In this place? Guts blinked his remaining eye, and sighed. Every time he took a breath he felt pain. He definitely had a few broken ribs, maybe more, but his injuries were extensive. He was covered in several lacerations all over his bare arms and face, and Guts could tell he was lightly concussed.

He didn't even know why, he just knew it hurt. The first thing that happened he can remember was fighting that Minotaur. Was that an apostle? If it was, why did his brand not bleed while he was fighting it?

He clenched his teeth in frustration, and looked down to his feet, taking more deep breaths.

"You there!" He heard a deep voice yell.

Guts looked up to the source of the voice, which was on top of the hill.

Standing next to the lone pine tree was the silhouette of what seemed to be a man riding a horse. However… something seemed very off. He could not see the head of the horse anywhere. The man's legs were missing as well, and Gut's eye widened.

He gripped the hilt of his blade, and drew it from the ground. The centaur raised his hands.

"I mean no harm sir!" It yelled. "A boy told me you needed assistance?"

Guts looked to the ground. There were a few centaurs on Elfhelm; they didn't try to butcher him alive. Besides, even if the thing wanted him dead, he would beat back any trap he may have lain out for the Black Swordsman. Guts sighed, and sheathed his blade once more.

"Yes." Guts responded.

"Are you a half-blood? I can't pick up your scent." It said.

Guts raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what the hell that's supposed to be." Guts said.

"If you were human or half-blood I could tell your scent, and you most definitely aren't a monster." It said.

Guts took a few steps in its direction.

"I'm human, right down to the marrow of my bones." He replied.

The centaur tilted his head in question.

"I give you permission to enter this place. Follow me; I think we have a great many things to speak of."

 **End of prologue. Longer chapters in the future. Do me a super solid and leave a review, I take all kinds, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Do it now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry if I'm not shitting out chapters for stories that often. Working eighty hours a week really limits your free time as I've found out.**

 **Now read my stupid bullshit.**

 **P.S wrote this while deathly ill, so a few mistakes may have been made.**

 **Or not.**

"Wait outside for a moment" Chiron said to Guts.

The centaur had told the Black Swordsman his name on the short walk to the front door of the large four story house. The horse man opened the door, and trotted inside, shutting the door behind him. Guts leaned on the railing of the porch, and waited for about five minutes before Chiron returned.

"Please, enter. Welcome to the Big House." The centaur said, opening the door.

Guts nodded, and stepped through the doorway.

The living room he stepped foot in was odd, there was a few orbs of light that hung from the ceiling that illuminated the space. A fire place burned to his right, and above it lay the head of a tiger, the way its eyes looked at him, it seemed as if it were alive. Brown oaken floorboards creaked beneath his weight, and on the other side of the room, he could see a short man staring at him expectantly. Chiron nudged Guts, and the Black Swordsman walked over to the little man.

Guts looked down at the little pudgy man sitting on the plush red chair. His hair was curly, and so black it was almost purple. There was a tint of red to his cheeks, and he wore a tiger patterned shirt with black trousers. A small table sat next to him, and with a wave of his hand, a small glass full of an odd brownish liquid appeared. That made The Black Swordsman tense up just the slightest bit, but his brand did not bleed.

This was no apostle, but he had a gut feeling he was powerful all the same. You wouldn't think it looking at him. Guts couldn't imagine this man wielding any sort of weapon. However, when you see someone make something appear out of thin air that should have been enough to put you on your guard.

"Chiron says you slayed the minotaur." The small man said, picking up his glass and twirling it. "I'm only awake right now because he also says you are human."

Guts looked all around the front room of what was called 'The Big House' and found the centaur, Chiron's eyes.

"This is Mr. D. He is our camp director." He said. "And yes, he claims he is fully human, 'right down to the marrow of his bones' he said, looking to the short man.

Mr. D rolled his eyes.

"And I am going to say that is completely false." Mr. D said, twirling his glass once more. "I can practically feel the magic radiating off of you. If you're human, I'm human."

Guts cocked his head.

"I'm guessing you're not?" The Black Swordsman asked.

"Of course I'm not!" Mr. D yelled, his eyes flashing a violent shade of fiery purple.

Guts instinctively grabbed the hilt of his Dragonslayer.

"I would not do that if I were you." Mr. D said. "I could turn you into a grape with a snap of my fingers. Here's a demonstration."

Mr. D then snapped his fingers at Guts, and after a minute of silence, nothing happened. Guts raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's odd…" He said. "That settles it. I was right all along. You aren't human."

"I am." Guts replied.

"You couldn't be. How on earth would you be able to resist that?" Mr. D asked.

"Resist the snapping of your fingers? Is there a reason I'm here that either of you know about?" Guts asked, taking his hand off of the hilt of his blade.

"Not that we know of." Chiron said. "We were hoping you could tell us what you were doing outside of the camp."

"I don't have a clue." Guts said. "I have a few questions of my own."

"Be quick about it." Mr. D said, leaning back in his chair.

The way Mr. D looked at Guts made him uncomfortable. His eyes scanned him up and down, seeming to be looking for any kind of weakness to exploit.

"Is this Elfhelm?" Guts asked. "There were centaurs there too."

"Never heard of it." Mr. D said. "And I have been alive a very long time."

"I also have never heard anything of such a place." Chiron told him. "What is it?"

"It was really… magic." Guts told them. "I remember talking to the Elf Queen, and then nothing. She said that she could bring Casca back, and then everything went black. The next thing I know, I end up here."

Both the centaur and Mr. D cocked their heads.

"Elf Queen? Casca? Who are these people that you speak of?" Chiron asked him.

"Casca is… Casca is my woman." Guts said. "And the Elf Queen is exactly that. Queen of Elfhelm."

"And like we said, we have no idea what Elfhelm is!" Mr. D yelled. "If you continue to waste my time I will cast you out!"

Guts narrowed his eye at the pudgy man.

"I don't care." Guts told him. "I have to leave and find them anyway."

Chiron's jaw was left agape.

"You DARE speak to Dionysus this way!?" Mr. D yelled out. "I'll turn you into a dolphin you little bastard!"

Dionysus raised his hand up to Guts, and squeezed his hand at the Black Swordsman, his eyes that same shade of fiery purple. Once again, nothing happened to him. Guts raised his eyebrow once more.

"Is that supposed to do something?" Guts asked. "If you're done wasting MY time, I'm leaving."

"Impossible! How are you resisting me!?" Dionysus shouted in confusion.

Chiron stepped in front of the door that lead outside.

"Please, don't leave. I must know where you came from." Chiron asked. "Mr. D, surely you're curious as well? He must not have met a god before, so he doesn't know how to properly behave around one."

Guts widened his eyes a margin, then glanced back at the puny god.

"You? You are a god?" Gut's asked.

Dionysus took a deep breath, and the red in his face dissipated.

"Yes. I am a god, and yes, I am THE Dionysus." He said.

"I don't know who you are. I've never heard your name." Guts said.

Chiron placed a hand on Gut's shoulder.

"Have you heard of Zeus? Poseidon? Perhaps Hades?" The centaur asked.

Guts shrugged his hand off.

"No. I haven't."

Guts was about to push his way past the centaur and leave this odd place, but before he did, he heard a knocking at the front door. Chiron turned his head, and grabbed the handle of the door. Guts and Chiron backed away from the door once he pulled it open, and Gut's jaw nearly hit the floor.

On the porch stood the Skull Knight. His skeleton shaped armor glistening in the light due to the rain. His glowing red eyes found him, and he nodded.

"There you are struggler." He said. "We have been displaced."

Chiron cocked his head, and looked to be on his guard. Dionysus simply let out a groan of irritation.

Guts walked right up to him.

"What do you mean 'displaced' where are we?" Guts asked.

"Not in our world. After we slayed Void, the backlash cast us here." The Skull Knight told him.

Guts frowned, and furrowed his brow.

"Slayed Void? What are you talking about?" Guts asked.

The Skull Knight might have cocked an eyebrow if he had any, but he simply looked deep into the swordsman's eyes.

"You don't remember do you?" The Skull Knight said. "You don't remember the battle at Elfhelm? How Femto himself led an army of demons against us?"

Guts clenched his teeth.

"Griffith!?" Guts screamed. "What the hell happened!? Tell me now!"

"Who are you two exactly?" Chiron asked.

The Skull Knight looked to the centaur.

"We are not of this world." He told Chiron. "We are from another, and now, your world is in terrible danger."

"Not of this world? And what do you mean terrible danger?" Chiron asked.

"Where is Griffith!?" Guts screamed, his body quaking with rage. "Where is Casca!?"

"Casca is back in our world struggler. Along with your other companions." The Skull Knight said. "However, our enemies have been taken here along with us. Voids death… affected the whole of the God Hand, they have presence here now."

Guts pinched his brow in reaction to the headache that began to boom in his head.

"How do we get back?" Guts asked.

"I know not the answer." The Skull Knight said. "There is likely a way we can return however."

"This is crazy talk." Dionysus said. "God hand? Other worlds? This sounds like complete and utter madness, and you." He said, pointing to the Skull Knight. "Who and what are you? You aren't human for sure."

The Skull Knight nodded at the god.

"I am human no longer. You need to know this, the God-hand threatens your very existence in this world, and they must be eliminated, before their influence over the mortals grows too strong." He said, turning his back to them. "Don't harm the struggler if you can manage it, he may be the key to saving your world."

"I will search for both a way to return to our world, and find the God hand. Struggler, I suggest you remain here, the world outside of this camp, it is not like our own." He said.

"How is it that you passed the barrier?" Chiron asked, looking perplexed.

The Skull Knight paused.

"All barriers can be broken through, given enough effort. Causality has already begun to flow, and will soon settle in this world. I will seek the answer to why we are here. Farewell struggler."

Guts scowled, and clenched his fist. Before anyone could react, the Skull Knight slashed open a purple colored portal with his Behelit blade, and stepped through it, sealing it behind him.

Guts furrowed his brow. If the Skull Knight could still do that… how was it that he couldn't go back to Midland? Was there something that was preventing him from accomplishing that? Just what the hell was happening?

Chiron looked to Guts.

"We have much to speak of it seems." The centaur said.

Dionysus rolled his eyes.

"I don't care anymore, I'm going to bed." The god said, vanishing from his chair. "If I ever hear you disrespect me in such a way again, I will kill you. That's not a threat, it is a promise. I don't have much patience, and I will not be talked down to by the likes of you. I don't care how many skeletons you're friends with, don't test me." Guts heard, even though the god had disappeared.

Guts looked to the centaur.

"How is this world any different from mine?" The Black Swordsman asked.

"Well, I don't know how your world is, so I have no idea. I'm… surprised Dionysus didn't incinerate you on the spot. However, what surprises me more is the fact that he tried to, and failed. What makes you so unique that you could resist a god's power?" Chiron asked him.

"I don't know." Guts said. "I don't really care. I need to leave."

Chiron shook his head, his horse tail following suit.

"That would not be wise. You're friend seemed to think that this is the safest place for you. It seems that Mr. D isn't going to cast you out. If you would, could you take a seat? We have much to talk about, I'm sure that there is plenty we can both learn from each other."

Guts remained silent.

"Fine." He said. "But I'm not promising that I'll stay longer than I need too."

Chiron smiled.

"Very good." He said. "Would you like something to drink? Tea perhaps?"

…

…

…

Percy Jackson opened his sea green eyes, seeing a long green field before him. His initial confusion about where he was vanishing after a minute. His mother… the Minotaur… the guy with the humongous sword, it all came rushing back to him. He was sitting in a white rocking chair on what seemed to be the front porch of the house he came into.

The smell of strawberries hit his nostrils, and he blinked. He stood up from the chair, causing it to rock back and forth lightly, and felt a wave of dizziness crash over him. He nearly fell on his face, but luckily there was a white picket fence on the deck he could catch himself on.

Maybe it was all just a really bad, really weird dream. Perhaps he passed out on the drive and just woke up here. Mom was probably inside talking to someone about their trip. Grover couldn't have been a satyr, which made no sense… right?

He heard a door open behind him, and when he looked, he saw his friend Grover looking at him with a relieved look on his face.

"You're awake!" He bleated.

Percy did a double take on Grover's legs, seeing his shaggy goat legs, and squinted. He definitely wasn't hallucinating. Grover was one of those goat dudes… a Satyr, and that meant that he wasn't dreaming about what happened.

His mother was gone. He looked down to the brown floorboards, and then back up to Grover.

"Where am I?" Percy asked his voice groggy and scratchy. "What's going on?"

"One thing at a time man. This has been a bad week for you." Grover told him, setting a glass of blue liquid on the small table next to where Percy had been resting. "Take a sip of that, it'll make you feel better."

Percy looked to the glass, and took a deep breath. His hand wrapped around the cold cup, and he lifted it to his lips. After he sipped it, his eyes widened with surprise, it tasted just like his mother's cookies. The cup was cold, but for some reason, when he sipped the drink it was warm. It soothed his sore muscles and dulled much of his pain. He went to chug the whole thing in one sitting, but Grover shouted "No!"

Percy looked at him with his brow furrowed, and Grover sighed.

"It's not safe to just drink all of that at once you know? It could kill you." He said.

"So could fighting a minotaur…" Percy muttered.

Grover clenched his teeth, and looked all around him. He appeared like he expected a monster to come out of nowhere.

"Yeah, that could too I guess. By the way… could you be more careful the way you throw monsters names around like that? Names have power you know?" He told him, sighing.

Percy shook his head in an attempt to clear the sudden dizziness that took him.

"Where's big sword guy?" Percy asked.

Grover widened his eyes.

"Why…?" The satyr asked.

"I just want to ask him what's going on." Percy said. "He did kill the min-"He said, catching himself. "The bull guy, I wanna thank him too."

Grover rubbed his curly hair.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, he doesn't seem too talkative, and Guts doesn't know what's happening either."

Percy cocked his head slightly to the left.

"His name is Guts?" Percy asked. "Who'd name their kid that?"

Grover shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't suggest talking to him, he doesn't seem to be in the mood to be asked questions. He's already yelled at about every camper and magical creature that's tried talking to him. He seems really angry, but sad too." Grover told him. "The only one I've seen talking to him without getting yelled at is Chiron."

"Chiron?" Percy asked. "As in… Chiron Chiron?"

"Yeah. Except you still know him as Mr. Brunner. They're both down by the lake right now. Chiron wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up, so let's head down there now." Grover said.

…

…

…

"I just don't understand why I can't remember a damned thing." Guts told the centaur. "I remember the Elf Queen, I remember reaching Elfhelm, but everything else is a blank."

The lake was a beautiful sight to see in the morning. The way the sun shone down on the water made it glisten as small ripples made their way across its surface. The forest smell he had grown accustomed to over the years was present, along with the sweet smell of the strawberries that grew en masse just a few yards away from the two of them. The soft earth beneath Gut's armored feet was soft, and sunk slightly with every step he took. If it weren't for the fact that he had no idea what had happened prior to him being here, he may have actually enjoyed this place.

In a way, it was much like Elfhelm, there were magical creatures all over the place, nymphs, satyrs, even a centaur.

"Even after a few days of rest you can't recall a single thing? Very troubling indeed, and still no word from you Skull Knight friend. I fear the words he uttered before he departed. What you've told me of this God Hand… it is truly horrific. If they are here, they must be stopped. I will contact Olympus when I can, and inform them of this." Chiron said.

Guts shut his remaining eye, and took in a deep breath, letting it out shortly afterwards.

"Why don't you do that now?" Guts asked.

"The gods of Olympus are… well busy at the moment. They'd most likely not hear from me at this time. They are close to conflict, which would be two times the bad news if their problem isn't resolved." Chiron told him. "This may seem off topic, but what happened to your left arm?" he said, pointing to his metal limb.

Guts looked down to it, the eclipse reliving itself in his mind.

"I'd rather not talk about it." He said.

"I apologize, I'm sure it was a traumatic experience." Chiron said.

Guts didn't know why, but the Berserker armor still felt damp, as if the rain water hadn't completely dried as of yet. He recalled yesterday how a couple of children approached him, asking about how it was crafted. They all wore aprons and had severely callused hands, as if they had been smithing since they were born. Which was most likely the case, seeing as how Chiron explained that they were children of the smithing god Hephaestus.

He told them he didn't know and to go away. They complied.

"Hey sword guy!" He heard a voice shout at him.

Guts turned around, and saw a boy with sea green eyes and black hair approach him, followed by Grover, who he had already met previously. Guts narrowed his eye at him.

"What do you want kid?" He asked him.

The boy didn't answer straight away, instead his attention turning to that of Chiron.

"Mr. Brun-! I mean, Chiron. What is this place?" He asked him.

"This is camp half-blood Percy." He told him. He then turned his head to Guts. "If you wouldn't mind, I should take my leave and give him a tour; I'll be back when I'm finished."

Guts nodded, and turned his attention back to the lake, tuning out the three voices that began to chatter to each other. He sighed, the water still looking fresh and inviting. Guts didn't know what was going to happen from here on out, and it made him nervous. He worried for his friend's safety, along with Casca. What was the Skull Knight doing? What was taking him so long to get back here for? Has he not found any trace of the God hand yet?

It was irritating. He could be searching or fighting right now, but he felt powerless. He'd seen what the world outside of this camp was like through a device called 'T.V.' Watching it was sort of mystifying in a way, it baffled him, and he had no idea how it functioned. However, the point was, there was nowhere in this world that was familiar to him. The whole place was alien to him, and it was likely to stay that way for a while.

He hoped 'a while' just meant a few days, but who knew what might happen?


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank ya guys for the fucking reviews. Here's the new chapter you thirsty bastards.**

Guts sat cross legged, staring up at the stars. His back pressed up against the base of a tree, and his sword laying flat beside him. The dew on the grass making the metal shine upon contact under the moonlight. There was a forest barely a quarter of a mile from the camp. Chiron had told him that they had monsters 'stocked' in the forest, but he had seen none. Guts felt as if that was just something Chiron said so the children wouldn't go wandering off into the forest.

He had been hearing odd sounds though, sounding as if they were both close, yet far. Heavy breathing of a large beast, the scrambling of an agile four legged creature, those kinds of noises. Guts had come here looking for a fight, to get his mind off of his situation. He saw nothing here however, no bull men, no snake people, and certainly no apostles.

Chiron had explained to him that when a monster in this world was slain, it wasn't a permanent death. All monsters that die here, will come back eventually, a thought that slightly irritated him. If they keep coming back over and over again, shouldn't they be looking for a way to put them down permanently? If the Gods here had so much power, why didn't they use it to keep their children and their people safe? Why couldn't they, for instance, trap all the monsters in one specific place they couldn't escape from?

Why bring children into a world where they had to fight every single day just to survive in the outside world? He had known that life ever since he had been branded, and these kids go through the same thing. The same way that Guts and Casca were safe in Godo's cavern, the Half-bloods were only safe here.

Outside the monsters would pick up on their scent, and begin tracking them down. Guts gritted his teeth. The Demigods that lived in the outside world struggled, just like he did. They are all basically branded, just without the actual brand.

Guts decided the Gods should go fuck themselves.

That wasn't the most forefront thing on his mind however. The Skull Knight had that part covered. It had been days. That Percy kid had found out that he was the son of the sea god, Poseidon. Apparently, that was a huge deal. There was even a prophecy associated with him as well that he overheard Chiron speaking about in the big house with Dionysus. The Skull Knight had been gone for so long that a prophecy that God knows how long ago was predicted, was beginning to pass.

He needed to leave this place. Guts knew that he didn't understand the outside world at all, but he didn't care. He couldn't just stay cooped up in some magic camp while he was off searching this place for answers.

Guts sat there for hours, contemplating the situation he had found himself in, to the point where the sun was beginning to rise. He stood up, just a bit drowsy, and began making his way back into camp.

"Struggler." Guts heard.

He quickly turned to look behind him, seeing the familiar horse and skeleton themed armor of the mysterious Knight.

"Forgive me." He said.

Guts cocked an eyebrow.

"For taking so long? What's going on?" Guts asked him.

The Skull Knight remained silent for a moment.

"I was wrong." He said.

"Wrong about what?" Guts asked him, worry starting to creep up in the back of Gut's mind.

"Your lover… your friends, they are all trapped. By the will of some powerful deity in this places underworld. I could not reach them. They remain frozen in ice unbreakable. Not even my sword can puncture it. They weren't back in our world after all."

Guts remained silent, his eye widening by a huge margin.

Casca, Puck, and the others… were all trapped in this world's hell. He gritted his teeth. Guts could scarcely believe it. His surprise was replaced with determination almost in an instant; nothing would stop him from protecting Casca or the others. Not even the forces of hell would stop him.

"Where do I need to go?" He asked the Skull Knight.

"While exploring this land, I had discovered a great many things about it. Through magical creatures such as nymphs and centaurs. They told me that the entrance to the Underworld lie in a city called Los Angeles."

"Where is that?" Guts asked.

"On the westward end of this country, I have been navigating around through this device I was gifted… something called a 'cell phone.' It has many uses." The Skull Knight said. "It connects to an infinite well of knowledge known as the internet. I scarcely know how to use it myself. The creature who gifted it to me only explained the search bar." He pulled out this small, rectangular device, and tossed it to Guts, who caught it in his open hand.

It was light weight, and Guts stared down at the block that lay in his bandaged hand.

"You may need it more than I. Now, there is a button on the side of it, you must push it to power it on." The skull knight said.

Guts inspected the side, seeing a small button and a longer one. He pushed the longer one and nothing happened.

"That's the volume; the power is above that, it's the smaller one."

Guts then pushed the button the Skull Knight pointed out. Once he did that, the screen lit up. Showing the time, and there was a bright blue color behind the letters and numbers that popped up. Then, many white dots showed up on the screen, in the shape of a square.

"How do I use this thing?" Guts asked.

"You must swipe the screen in a G pattern." The Skull Knight told him.

Guts attempted it, pressing his finger against the screen and swiping in an attempt to form a G. The lines all went red, and then they went back to white. The words, 'failed attempt, three attempts remaining popped up.' Three attempts? What happened if he failed three times? Would it explode? Was this thing dangerous?

He squinted, and attempted one more time. He failed again. Guts sighed, and tossed the thing back to the Skull Knight.

"I don't want it." He said. "I'll just find a good ol' fashioned map, that thing doesn't want to work for me.

"Very well, travel west, and make sure to ask for directions." The Skull Knight told him. "I will continue my search for the Godhands presence in this world."

"You do that. I'm going to make my way to Los Angeles, and save Casca." Guts said. "I'll ask Chiron for a map." He said, turning to the Big House.

"Good journey struggler." The Skull Knight told him.

The Black Swordsman did not respond.

…

…

…

Percy looked into the back of the white S.U.V, Argus; the camps head of security, waited in the front seat, two of his many eyes staring at Percy. He felt a little bit nervous, here he was, leaving what he assumed was the only safe place on the planet for him, to go and get a lightning bolt from the underworld.

Sounded "simple" enough.

Chiron stood behind him, and Annabeth and Grover stood beside him, ready to enter after he did. He climbed into the vehicle, the smell of new car breaching his nostrils. The white seats barely looking worn, like they hadn't been seating other heroes yet. This was the case, as quests had apparently been on lockdown, until today of course.

"I hope this quest goes okay…" Grover mumbled.

Annabeth then laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine, you'll see, Seaweed brain and I won't get a scratch, and you'll be the greatest goat around." Annabeth said, smiling.

That seemed to lift Grover's spirits a little, but he still kind of kept his shoulders slump, and his teeth were chattering a little bit. Percy had to admit, he felt a little nervous himself, he was going on a trip all the way across the country, and he could only imagine all the monsters they would have to fight along the way.

Chiron shut the car door behind them, his tail flicking once. Argus started the car, but didn't take off just yet; Chiron had held his hand up to Argus in a 'wait a sec' kind of motion. Argus complied, shutting the car off. Chiron's head was turned towards the top of the hill with the pine tree. Guts stood there, the morning light reflecting off of the individual black plates of his armor.

He began walking down the hill, yelling something to Chiron. Once he reached the bottom of the hill, they talked for a few minutes. Guts must have said something surprising, because Chiron's head immediately snapped up from its previous hunched position. Chiron then nodded to Guts, and pointed to the S.U.V. Guts looked to it, then back to Chiron, and then he nodded. They both then began walking towards the car.

Percy was confused, and Annabeth along with Grover both had their eyes wide as they stared at Guts, bewildered. Argus rolled down the window, and Guts opened the passenger door.

"Good news you three, Guts just so happens to seek passage to the underworld as well, he says there is someone important there he needs to see. He agreed to help you on your quest up until that point." Chiron told them.

"I just get in here?" Guts asked, drawing a few of Argus's eyes.

Guts had seen Argus before, Percy was sure.

"What is this thing?" Guts said, sitting down on the car seat. He had to angle his sword just right, to even fit it inside the car, and the thing's hilt was pushed up against the ceiling, with its blade point poking into the floor at his armored feet. It sounded like it tore some of the fabric, and Argus frowned; remaining silent.

Despite how surprising this was, Percy was actually relieved that Guts was coming along with them. It helped ease his mind. Guts slew the Minotaur with that slab of iron, and that was when he was really banged up too. Percy actually let out a breath of relief, though; he still felt some fear creeping up his spine.

Grover and Annabeth simply stared at the massive swordsman, their eyes wide. Guts looked back at them.

"I don't know anything about the world outside the camp, so if we come across any phones or anything like that, you're the experts." Guts told them.

Annabeth cocked her head at him, like a confused puppy.

"Okay?" Annabeth said, dragging out the length of the word.

Grover took a deep breath, and let it out, much like Percy had just a moment earlier.

"That's great." Grover said, sounding genuinely grateful.

Chiron looked at Gut's sword.

"We know that can slay monsters, as for the death of the Minotaur, but what of your other weapons? Are they effective as well?" Chiron asked him.

Guts looked down at his mechanical hand.

"I fired some of my crossbow bolts at that thing I fought when I got here, and it looked like it just passed right through it, like it wasn't even there." Guts told him.

Chiron then looked to the sword.

"I see… but that sword looks to be made of ordinary steel… Is it magical in some way?" Chiron asked him.

Guts patted the sword on the flat of its blade.

"Someone told me once that I had killed so many monsters with it, that it can hurt anything supernatural. It's been real handy." Guts said.

Chiron nodded.

"Give me one moment; you must always be prepared for ventures like this." The Minotaur said, galloping off over the hill.

A few silent minutes passed, until the centaur returned, carrying a mid-sized back pack, and handed it to Guts. The swordsman took it, and opened the pack; Percy leaned over the top of the seat to see what was inside.

There were celestial bronze tipped crossbow bolts, and a sword not that much longer than riptide inside, it came with a brown leather sheath.

"These will hurt the monsters you come into contact with, but beware, these weapons will not harm mortals, and they will pass through them as if they didn't exist as well."

Guts then grabbed one of the bolts, and attempted to prick his finger with the bolt. His one eye widened a bit when it simply passed through his skin. He placed it back in the pack, and shut it.

"Down to the marrow of my bones." Guts said, smiling.

When Percy saw Guts do that, he was half expecting for the bolt to pierce his skin, in a sort of grand fashion. Like he was a secret half-blood all along or something like that.

But that would be stupid he guessed. He sat back down in his seat, and Chiron shut the door to the car, smiling at the children in the car, before galloping off once again. Argus started the car, which almost made Guts jump, with his head snapping to the source of the sound.

"Is that normal?" Guts asked no one in particular.

Annabeth sighed.

"Yes, that's the engine." She explained to him.

Guts nodded, and leaned back in his seat.

"So I'm guessing this thing operates like a carriage without a horse right? It just goes on its own?" Guts asked once more.

Annabeth didn't sigh, she actually looked… pleased with herself, holding a soft smile.

"Yeah, that's exactly it, there's a lot of stuff that goes into making cars run. Oil, gasoline, and a whole bunch of other smelly stuff." Annabeth said.

Argus started driving, making way for Manhattan. Gut's grip tightened a little bit on the hilt of his sword. When they reached the freeway and Argus began hitting eighty miles an hour, Percy noticed a line of sweat on his forehead.

Was he scared? What was he scared of?

"This thing goes pretty fast." He said, his eye carefully watching the other cars pass them by.

Percy's jaw nearly dropped. He knew it was probably his first time in a car, but to think it would be making him this nervous.

"It's okay, Argus is a really good driver, trust me I've seen the guy race." Grover told Guts.

Guts did not respond.

It was mostly a silent car ride, they drove all the way to a bus top, and Argus let the three of them off there. The white sidewalk was hot from the sun constantly beating on it, and several people sat on benches next to a blue bus sign. There was a woman leaning on the sign, she wore a white skirt that reached her knees, and a white sleeveless shirt. A pair of white rimmed sunglasses were covering her eyes, and her long black hair reached her lower back.

She had a very symmetrical face, high cheekbones, and a thin nose. She placed a finger on her sunglasses, and lowered them beneath her eyes, staring at Guts. Before Percy could make out the color of her eyes, she placed the glasses back in their proper place. He thought for just a moment however, that he caught a glint of red before she did reposition her glasses. She turned her head from the group, looking at nothing.

Percy's hand neared Riptide in his pocket, he had a bad feeling about that lady.

A lot of people were staring at Guts in particular, and they started whispering to each other. He heard a few sentences when the four of them passed the group by.

"Why does he have a huge frying pan on his back?" That one confused Percy the most.

He tapped Annabeth on the shoulder.

"What do you want?" She asked him, crossing her arms.

"Well… a couple people over there were saying Guts had a huge frying pan, but it doesn't even look like that. Why do they think that? Is that a magical thing or something?" Percy asked her.

Annabeth looked to the sword.

"Is that what they think it looks like? Boy the mist sure is weird…" Annabeth said.

Percy furrowed his brow.

"Oh! Right, I forgot you were sort of new at this. The mist is sort of this barrier that contorts the eyes of mortals so they can see what they believe to see… so to speak. So say I was to be fighting a monster with snakes for hair; mortals would see it as a girl swinging a knife at a really ugly old lady, something like that."

Grover nodded.

"Oh yeah, honestly I probably don't have to wear these fake legs, but half-bloods have an easier time looking through it. My job was finding half-bloods and bringing them to camp. A goat man just walking right up to them and breaking their version of reality would probably be too much for them, and they'd either run away or cry a lot. Usually both." Grover said, scratching his curly hair.

Guts looked down to Annabeth.

"So what do they see instead of my armor then?" Guts asked.

"I have no idea. Whatever it is they perceive." She said, sitting down on one of the benches.

Three old women were a few benches away from them, and Percy thought one of them looked familiar, but before he could make that one out, the bus had pulled in to pick them up. Annabeth stood up, and gestured for Guts to follow. He complied, and followed right after her, walking up the steps to the driver. Percy stood behind him, and Grover stood behind Percy.

He heard Annabeth give the driver some cash, and she walked towards the back of the bus, gesturing for the group to follow. Annabeth sat down near the window, and Guts took his sword off of his back, placing it between his legs with its hilt facing the ceiling once more.

Grover also took a seat near the window, but before Percy sat down, he made eye contact with one of the old women.

It was Ms. Dodd's.

 **A hyuck.**


End file.
